


The Pavement Always Stayed Beneath My Feet Before

by beyoursupermantonight



Category: Glee RPF
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Homeless, M/M, homeless, homeless!Darren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-09
Updated: 2014-10-09
Packaged: 2018-02-20 11:53:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2427719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beyoursupermantonight/pseuds/beyoursupermantonight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A first meeting AU, in which Darren is homeless and a famous Chris walks down a lot of city streets.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Pavement Always Stayed Beneath My Feet Before

Construction work easily made Chris’ list of “Top 5 Least Favorite Things About Living in New York”, right along with subway stairs and hordes of pigeons. But Chris found the construction work especially aggravating today, as it completely threw off his morning routine. In fact, he had to go two whole blocks out of his usual route to get to his favorite coffee place, the one that had the best blueberry yogurt muffins in all of New York.

Chris had his phone out, having long ago mastered the delicate art of navigating crowded city streets while sending rapid-fire texts, and so it took him a moment to notice the figure in the doorway of a run-down building. The man was sitting cross-legged on the stoop, wearing a faded “I do my own stunts” t-shirt. His curly black hair was a tousled mess, and the scruff on his cheeks and chin showed that it had been at least a couple of days since his last shave. A battered knapsack sat at his feet, and an empty guitar case was propped open on the sidewalk beside him.

But what really caught Chris’ attention was the song.

The man was singing “Part of Your World” with the sort of reverent affection that Chris had thought only eight-year-olds at Disney World could muster. Chris rolled his eyes and kept walking. He refused to admit to himself that his pace slowed just a bit, that he wanted a few more seconds of the man’s voice crooning melodies in his ear. Because really, who sings Little Mermaid on a street corner?

****************************

It was a week later before Chris chanced to go down that street again. The construction on his usual route was finished, but Chris told himself he liked the scenic view of the detour better.

He ignored the way his heart skipped a beat when he came to Guitar Guy’s block, and the wave of relief that flooded through him when he saw him sitting on that same stoop. Chris slowed his pace a little more deliberately this time, pretending to check something on his phone while he listened to what the man was singing today. It was a slowed-down, acoustic version of Teenage Dream, and Chris thought it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever heard. As subtly as he could, Chris fished a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet. He was still standing several feet away, and he waited until the man seemed occupied with re-tuning his guitar before he approached. Chris dropped the twenty in the open guitar case as unobtrusively as he could, and he was just starting to quickly step away when he heard a voice behind him.

“Oh, hey, man, thanks!” Guitar Guy said. “I’m so glad you liked the song. Don’t let the fact that I forgot half the lyrics fool you; it’s one of my favorites.” He chuckled, warm and easy, and it was in complete contrast to the way Chris felt.

Chris turned around, feeling awkward and unsure, and with a tight smile on his lips that he was sure looked anything but natural. “Right, yeah,” Chris said, wincing a little as he realized that reply didn’t make a whole lot of sense. But Guitar Guy smiled at him like he was brilliant and beautiful and brave, and for just a moment Chris  _felt_ brilliant and beautiful and brave.

And then a speed-walking woman in four-inch heels nearly ran him over, and Chris just felt clumsy and stupid again. “Well, um. Thanks for the song,” Chris said, waving a little as he started to inch away, apparently aiming for the most awkward exit possible. “It was really nice,” he added, hating himself a bit for the utter lameness of that compliment. He bit back a sigh as he turned away.

“Wait, no! Don’t just run off,” Guitar Guy said behind him. It was hard to tell, but Chris thought he detected the hint of a plea in those words. “Unless, of course, you have an important meeting or something to get to, ‘cause then I would feel really bad making you late for the rest of your day,” Guitar Guy added, as if it had only just occurred to him that Chris must have been on his way somewhere.

Chris tightened his smile as he turned back around, surprised to see Guitar Guy had gotten up from his stoop and followed after him for a couple of feet. The corners of Chris’ mouth twitched with what felt like genuine pleasure. “I  _do_ have a meeting to get to,” Chris admitted, a little reluctantly. He hesitated then, wanting to say more but having no clue what words would be right in this moment.

Guitar Guy jumped in after only a second; warm, bright smile still lighting up his face. “Would you tell me your name, at least? Just your first name. I don’t wanna make you feel uncomfortable or anything, but you seem like a cool guy, and I love meeting cool people. I’m Darren, by the way.”

Chris didn’t quite know how to respond to that, so he just said simply, “Chris.” His smile was a little more genuine when he nodded at Guitar Guy— _Darren_ , he corrected himself. “It’s nice to meet you, Darren.”

Darren was still looking at him like he personally hung the moon, stars, and arranged the orbits of the planets, and Chris was starting to feel like his heart had forgotten how to beat properly. It kept skipping or thudding too hard, and there was a blush on his cheeks that he absolutely knew he hadn’t given permission to be there. His tongue felt stuck to the roof of his mouth with superglue as memories of years of being rejected and ignored came flooding back.

This man,  _Darren_ , was amazing and talented and gorgeous and kind, and Chris was 87% sure he was falling in love with him. Which was more than a little alarming, considering that he had only known him for about three and a half minutes.

“Well, um, bye,” Chris said quickly, giving Darren a little wave and his most apologetic smile before turning away. He walked quickly, not giving Darren any chance or reason to follow him, and his heart was thudding too loudly in his ears for him to hear if Darren had called anything out after him. He knew it had been an abrupt departure, and maybe even a little rude, but it was what he had needed to do. This sort of odd fairytale only worked out in storybooks.

********************

Three weeks went by before Chris found himself once again on Guitar Guy’s street, on _Darren’s_ street. He had done his best to avoid the area, to avoid thinking about anything even remotely connected to Darren. It was almost insane, really, how such a brief encounter could leave him feeling like his whole world had flipped upside down.

He saw Darren’s smile everywhere, felt it like an ache in his bones that was impossible to soothe. And he could swear he heard Darren’s voice crooning gentle melodies to him in those moments just before he fell asleep.

So after twenty-three days and countless attempts at distraction, Chris gave up.

He didn’t even hesitate as he made the left turn to go down Darren’s street. Sure, it was a little out of his way, but Chris knew it would be worth it. Well, he hoped it would be worth it, anyway. It had been a long time since Chris had felt this way about someone.

He was so busy debating what sort of ‘hello’ would sound less stupid that he nearly walked right past Darren’s stoop.

Except Darren wasn’t on his stoop today. In fact, there was no sign that anyone had ever been there at all.

Chris stood there for a long minute, blinking slowly at the empty stoop as if it was just a bad dream he could wake up from. But that curly head of hair never appeared, and Chris couldn’t hear any breezy melodies.

Chris wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do then. All he knew about Darren was his first name and that he had a penchant for Disney songs. And in a city as big as New York, that was next to nothing to go on.

Chris went back home, confused and sad and thoroughly disbelieving in fairy tales.

*************************************

It was all Amber’s fault, really. After a discussion on how they actually wanted to _do_ something to give back, something more than just donating a bunch of money to charity, Amber had decided to volunteer at a soup kitchen once a week. And this week, she was dragging Chris along with her.

It had been almost two months since Chris’ disappointing stroll down Darren’s street, and he was almost completely over him. Personally, Chris thought he was being ridiculous. He had only met Darren twice; that was hardly a grand enough foundation to fall head over heels in love with someone. And yet, Chris still felt butterflies in his stomach every time he thought of the way Darren’s eyes crinkled at the corners, or how he smiled like he was the most utterly alive person in the world. Chris had never been around someone who had made him feel that way before.

Not that it mattered, of course, since Darren had disappeared and all Chris could do was focus his efforts on moving on.

Which was exactly how Amber had convinced him to join her at the soup kitchen that day, instead of moping around the apartment like a puppy left out in the rain.

It was busy at the soup kitchen, and Chris found that he actually enjoyed it more than he thought he would. He couldn’t help thinking of Darren, and of how difficult it must be to survive on the streets like that. Wherever Darren had gone, Chris just hoped he was okay.

Chris smiled warmly at the men and women filing through the line, handing them hot plates and trying his best to make friendly conversation. Amber kept giving him this proud, beaming smile, so he supposed he must not have been doing too horribly.

“Do you want mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, or both?” Chris asked with a smile, although his gaze was focused on grabbing the next empty plate so he could start filling it up.

“Oh, man, that’s an impossible choice. You know I gotta have both,” a familiar voice replied, dripping warm like honey down his spine.

Chris’ head shot up so fast he was almost afraid he had sprained something. He gazed in shock at the man in front of him, holding his breath as if any sudden movement might make the dream disappear. But Darren wasn’t a dream. He was real, and he was standing right in front of Chris with his hair poking out from beneath his stupid beanie, and his smile was even brighter than Chris had remembered.

“Ohmygod, it’s you,” Chris said, all on one shaky exhale. And then he winced at how potentially creepy and awkward that probably sounded.

But Darren just laughed, warm and soothing, like they were old friends who could say anything to each other. “Yeah, man. And you’re the fantastically kind and generous Teenage Dream fan. Chris, right?”

Chris just nodded, too dumbfounded and surprised to untangle the jumble of thoughts in his head. One of the people behind Darren cleared their throat loudly, and Chris snapped back to attention, cheeks blushing an instinctive pink as he quickly loaded the food onto Darren’s plate. “Here you are!” Chris said, his smile too tight and his voice too cheery as he handed over the plate.

“Thanks, Chris,” Darren replied, once again sounding calm and relaxed in a way that had Chris’ gut twisting with envy. Darren pointed over his shoulder and added, “I’ll be sitting over there, if you want to come say hi after everybody’s through. But no pressure, alright?” And with another impossibly encouraging smile, Darren was gone, moving down the line to get the rest of his meal.

Chris was so nervous and distracted that he could barely focus on the rest of the people, and he considered it a minor miracle that he didn’t spill anything or screw up an order.

He spent more time than he needed to wiping down counters afterwards, but when he looked up, Darren was still sitting at one of the tables, talking animatedly to an older man with a Batman scarf.

Chris had to take three deep breaths before he felt brave enough to cross the room. His steps slowed as he neared Darren, hesitant and anxious and unable to keep from wondering if he really was  _wanted_ after a lifetime of never being chosen.

As soon as Darren spotted Chris out of the corner of his eye, he gave Chris a smile that could light the world. Encouraged, Chris gave Darren a small smile of his own, and walked up to the table with a little more purpose. The man with the Batman scarf looked between them with a seemingly knowing smile, and then he got up and walked away, leaving Darren alone at the table.

Chris flushed, although he wasn’t quite sure why, and took a seat across from Darren.

“Hey,” Chris said, soft and gentle, like it would break.

“Hi,” Darren murmured back, his smile transforming into something special and private, like it was something reserved just for Chris.

They stared at each other for a few seconds in what should have felt like awkward silence, but instead felt like learning how to breathe for the first time.

Darren spoke first. “Do you ever get that feeling when you look at someone and it feels like you’ve known them forever? Like they’re the best friend you never knew you were missing?”

Chris rolled his eyes, cheeks flushing warmer, but he couldn’t quite hold back the grin tugging at the corners of his lips. “You’re ridiculous.”

Darren just laughed, and Chris thought it sounded like coming home. “Yeah, man,” Darren replied, with another one of his light-up-the-world smiles. “I really kinda am. So, uh, are you gonna ask me out or are you just gonna keep rolling those fascinating eyes at me? Seriously, though, what color  _is_ that?”

“Shut up,” Chris muttered, rolling his eyes before he could stop himself. He tried to ignore the way Darren had leaned in closer to get a better look at his eyes, and the sudden, frantic fluttering of his own heart as he looked anywhere but at this man who left him so breathless and tongue-tied.

After counting down from ten in his head, Chris finally felt confident enough to speak without worrying about his voice breaking. “Darren. Would you like to get coffee with me tomorrow?”

Darren beamed, looking for all the world like a puppy who had just been given his favorite toy. “Yeah! Yeah, I’d really fucking love that,” he replied with a grin.

Chris rolled his eyes again and laughed softly, half at Darren and half at the sheer absurdity of the situation. It was far from  _once upon a time_ . It was nothing like a fairytale.

But it was a start. 


End file.
